G.R. No. 159787 - Diaz vs. People

On October 16, 1992, the Office of the City Prosecutor of Manila filed an Information for libel against petitioner Ogie Diaz and Manny Pichel before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 2, Manila.
The Information charged that on or about December 28, 1991, Diaz (Managing Editor and writer of Bandera newspaper) and Pichel (lay-out artist) conspired together to libel complainant Florinda Bagay by publishing a defamatory article in the movie section of Bandera.
Both accused pleaded not guilty, and after trial and pre-trial, the RTC convicted both Diaz and Pichel of libel on May 12, 1998.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed Diaz’s conviction but acquitted Pichel. Diaz’s motion for reconsideration was denied on August 29, 2003.
Diaz filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari before the Supreme Court assailing the CA decision.

The article concerned “Miss S,” alleged to have been involved in a romantic and sexual relationship with “Philip Henson,” describing explicit sexual details and imputing immoral and lascivious behavior on “Miss S.”
Florinda Bagay testified that she was the “Miss S” referred to in the article, adopting "Patricia Santillan" as her screen name during her brief acting career.
Bagay explained the article embarrassed her, caused her to stop her studies, and harmed her reputation among family and community.
Her godmother, Mila Parawan, a showbiz writer, corroborated Bagay’s identification, credibility, and the motivation behind the article’s publication.
The defense witnesses, including seasoned movie journalists and a talent manager, testified that “Miss S” was not identifiable as Florinda Bagay and no such screen name was known in the industry.

The article was published in the December 28, 1991 issue of Bandera newspaper.
Petitioner Diaz admitted authorship of the column “Pakurot,” but denied personal knowledge of Florinda Bagay, relying instead on Philip Henson as source.
Pichel denied editorial responsibility, claiming only to be a lay-out artist.
Witnesses confirmed that no known actress bore the screen name “Patricia Santillan,” and that the letter “S” could be a reference to “shabu” and not a person.

RTC convicted Diaz and Pichel of libel, meting indeterminate penalties and fines prohibited under Articles 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
CA reversed the conviction as to Pichel but maintained Diaz’s conviction.
Petition for review was filed before the Supreme Court contesting these rulings.

Whether the article published in Bandera newspaper constitutes libel under Article 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code.

Whether the complainant, Florinda Bagay, was sufficiently identified or identifiable as the “Miss S” mentioned in the libelous article.

Whether the elements of libel — defamatory imputation, malice, publicity, and identification — were duly established against petitioner Ogie Diaz.